Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of David M. Schwartz to the State Board of Public Defense.

Schwartz, of Hugo, is a community faculty member of Metropolitan State University’s School of Law Enforcement, and an instructor of professional training in safety and compliance with Customized Safety training. He has over 34 years of law enforcement experience, where he served as the chief of the Forest Lake Police Department for 24 years, preceded by 10 years as a Forest Lake police officer. Schwartz has served as a member of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association Scholarship and Legislative Committee, treasurer of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Education Foundation Board of Directors, past president of the Washington County Chiefs of Police Association, past president of the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Association, and a member of the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers.

Schwartz is a past president of the Forest Lake Youth Service Bureau Board of Directors, past president of the Family Violence Network Board of Directors, chair of the Forest Lake Community Education Advisory Committee, chair of the Minnesota Police Explorers Scholarship Committee, chair of operations of the Forest Lake Centennial Steering Committee, and a member of the Forest Lake Safety Camp Board of Directors. Schwartz replaces Michael McGinn on the State Board of Public Defense as a public member to a four-year term that expires on January 3, 2011.

The State Board of Public Defense approves and recommends a budget to the Legislature, and establishes procedures for distribution of state funding for the board, the Office of the State Public Defender, the judicial district public defenders and the public defense corporations. The board also appoints the state public defender and the chief public defenders of the state’s ten judicial districts. The board consists of seven members, including four attorneys appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court and three public members appointed by the Governor.